Iolanthe--Live stage performance on DVD

Iolanthe was the first Gilbert and Sullivan I performed. It was the summer after my junior year of high school and I went to the National Music Camp at Interlochen to sing and dance my little heart out. I'm sure I had heard of G & S before (my father always talks about being the "Little Midshipman"--a role which doesn't appear in the printed score-- in a production of Pinafore when his sister was Little Buttercup) but I had never seen one of their operettas, been in one of their operettas, and had probably never sung any of their songs. Oh, wait, there was the Linda Ronstadt Pirates (shiver)...

The Interlochen production of Iolanthe featured something like 150 high-schoolers. Over-whelming, yes. A lot of fun, you bet. I've since met many people who spent summers at Interlochen, and the operetta is always mentioned as one of the highlights of their time there. One of my first entries in my Year of Musical Thinking mentions the death of Mel Larimer who was the musical director for the NMC operettas.

Anyway, onto the production at hand. This is a 1984 staging at the Stratford Festival in Ontario Canada. It stars operatic contralto (and Canadian favourite) Maureen Forrester. Ms. Forrester is by far the best singer in the cast, but there is much else to be delighted by. Paul Massel as Strephon is a good singer with a nice hairy chest.

The production is created as a faux Provincial touring show, with stage hands opening crates and unpacking costumes and props. The look of the production is therefore whimsical and two-dimensional. There are tons of Canadian-isms interpolated into the lyrics, and I can't claim to understand most of them, despite being somewhat a Canadi-ophile.

Oh, dear, I just Googled Mr. Massel and it appears he's now a Catholic priest. I could make a very mean joke about Strephon being half a fairy, but I won't.

I need some therapy.

Iolanthe
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Lyrics by WS Gilbert
First performed in 1882
This production from 1984 at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada
Cast: Maureen Forrester, Paul Massel, Eric Donkin, Arvo Kittask, Katharina Megli, Marie Baron

The Gondoliers--opera stage performance filmed for television

My search for a good Gilbert and Sullivan production continues, but this presentation by the Australian Opera in the Sydney Opera house filmed for television by ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) has come closer than many of my forays into G & S. The primary aspect to enjoy in this production is the singing voices, which are all first-rate. Unfortunately, the recorded sound quality is very poor and makes it hard to understand much of the lyrics or truly appreciate the singing. The other production values are high-quality, particularly the costumes.

You know there is a but coming, and here it is. I don't like interpolation of modern lyrics into G&S. I realize that the original text poked fun at political and social items of the day, and there is a school of thought that to get across the nature of the song, you need to update those references to today. Well, my blue rinse is showing, but I like my operetta without references to Mick Jagger or the British Royal family.

I also don't approve of casting a man as the Duchess of Plaza-Toro. There are always fewer roles for women in theater and opera, why deny yet another role for a woman?

There is a ton of dancing in this production, and most of it done by the primary cast. I was surprised how well and how energetically it was performed, particularly by singers. The prime example is baritone Roger Lemke as Giuseppe. I liked his voice very much and he does some very athletic moves. Ooh, I just looked him up on imdb.com and Lemke was in Baz Luhrman's La Boheme. I'm off with a new obsession.

The Gondoliers
Music by Sullivan
Lyrics by Gilbert
Produced by the Australian Opera in 1990
Cast: Roger Lemke, Robert Gard, Graeme Ewer, David Hobson, Christine Douglas, Dennis Olsen, Fiona M, Susan Johnston, Fiona Maconaghie, Martin Croft

The Pirates of Penzance stage production on DVD

Someone needs to help me find some Gilbert and Sullivan productions on DVD that will capture the fun I remember doing these shows back in the day. I've struggled through pedantic BBC television production, an Australian Opera G&S that seems stellar by contrast, and now an Australian television taping of a stage version of Pirates of Penzance which continues to have me scratching my head asking "Don't some good versions of G&S exist"?

This version of Pirates has a lot going on, and some of it is not without positive attributes. My primary beef is that is too much going on with this production--too many jokes, too many asides, too many liberties with text and score.

The music-making seems undervalued and continually sacrificed for the sake of a joke. This starts with the "orchestra" consisting of perhaps four synthesizers, rather than actual instruments. I want my operetta with something other than keyboard accompaniment, even if that keyboard is imitating, strings, or brass or woodwinds. Yes, I am an old bitty.

The singing is sometimes good. Helen Donaldson as Mabel has a small voice, but is able to do all the coloratura, which is nice to hear. Simon Gallaher as Frederick also has the full range to sing this role. Jon English as the Pirate King and Derek Metzger as the Major-General do more joke-making than singing, and I tired quickly of both performances. Mr. English seems to be a sort of star in Australia as a rock musician and musical theater performer with credits in Jesus Christ Superstar, Blood Brothers, and several G&S productions. He has much of that 70s hair band look down. Of course, that was 20 years before this show was filmed and age is not often kind to 70s rockers.

I liked the physical production of this show. The set looks like it could be in some English rural town hall production (which I mean in a charming way), and the costumes are first-rate. I don't know exactually why the chorus of women is only allowed to be three (I guess the Blendettes, or whatever their name is only gets to be three), but I think it's cheating. You need a daughter for every pirate, or someone's going to be off in a corner at the end, or off with another pirate (hmmm).

The endless encores of "With Catlike Tread" made me want to throw something at my television. Ditto, the "Hooked on Pirates" medley that accompanied the bows. Parts of this production show up on YouTube and if I had been smart enough to see those bits, I would have skipped the whole show. Believe me, I'll tread cat-like before I watch another G&S production from this team.

Pirates of Penzance
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by William Gilbert
Premiered in 1879
This productions filmed for Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1994 based on the touring production of the same year.
Directed by Peter Butler
Cast: Simon Gallaher, Jon English, Helen Donaldson, Toni Lamond, Derek Metzger

Ruddigore television production on DVD

This is another in the rather pedestrian British television series of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. I've previously discussed The Mikado and Patience. Like Mikado, this production of Ruddigore includes a "What the Hell!" cast member--namely Vincent Price. Mr. Price does admirably with the dialogue, but doesn't bring a thing to the music.

This was the first G&S in my Year, that I did not previously know--either by having seen it or been in it. My first thought is that there is a lot of dialogue, and that many of the musical numbers seem under-developed. I was also struck by the number of duets in this show--it seems to me that usually only the young lovers have a duet, but in Ruddigore, there are duets for everyone.

The plot revolves around the brothers Murgatroyd, which has to provide some of the best rhymes ever (unemployed, so annoyed, hemmoroid), and a curse on their family in Castle Ruddigore.

The vocal standout in the cast is Sandra Dugdale, who was also in Patience. Ann Howard tries admirably with Mad Margaret, but doesn't quite get there for me--either vocally or acting. Several in the cast (including Mr. Price) are significantly older than their characters, which doesn't work in something as close-up as television.

This is an odd show also for the chorus. The men portray the ghosts of the family Murgatroyd. The women are a roving band of bridesmaids. Neither group has that much to do, not even a rousing final chorus at the happy conclusion.

Ruddigore
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by William Gilbert
first produced in 1887
filmed for television in 1982
Cast: Sandra Dugdale, Ann Howard, Keith Mitchell, Vincent Price, John Treleaven,

Patience, or Bunthorne's Bride television production on DVD

What, ho! Another Gilbert and Sullivan production? I thought he had given up on them as out-dated, over-played, and uninspired? Well, sort of. While this production has a lot more to speak for it than the previous one of the series I encountered, The Mikado, I continue to look for a production of Gilbert & Sullivan that justifies my love of the genre.

One of the best things about G & S operettas are their ridiculously inspired Act One Finales, which seem to go on forever, involving every character and presenting twist after twist--both musically and in the storyline. Patience has one of the best Act One Finales, I think, and it's well presented here in a production that improves upon the staticness of the earlier production of the series I saw.

Part of the problem with this production may be the age of the cast. It's hard to believe Bunthorne or Grosvner as the apple of anyone's eye, when both performers are on the far side of 50. Even Sandra Dugdale, who enbodies the wide-eyed innocence and ample bosum of the title character, is a little long in the tooth to portray the role. But her singing is the musical standout of the cast, so I'll forgive. Kudos to Anne Collins as Lady Jane for accompanying herself on the cello during her Act Two aria, although Ms. Collins' voice lacks a bit of the contralto heft that I wanted to hear.

Patience or Bunthorne's Bride
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by William Gilbert
Based on a production by the English National Opera directed by John Cox
Cast: Derek Hammond-Stroud, Sandra Dugdale, Anne Collins, John Fryatt

The Mikado Television Production on DVD

Quick, hie me to my Netflix queue to remove the other Gilbert & Sullivan productions in this series from my list. If this production of The Mikado is any indication, the whole series, created for television in the 1980s, is dreadful.

I was suspect when the production was introduced by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. I'm sure you're either asking "Who?", or if you know who, then you are asking "Why?" as I was. Then the cast credits rolled and William Conrad was listed as the Mikado--again the who/why scenario.

The production was created for television and is shot on a sound stage. The is no audience, and no applause between musical numbers, which only adds to the leaden feeling of the whole thing. The London Symphony Orchestra provides the music, but it sounds as if they and the chorus are being piped in from a shed around back.

The staging vascillates between traditional presentational, proscenium-like choreography, and mugging in asides to the camera, which are awkwardly edited. While I don't recognize any cast members other than Mr. Conrad, the cast must be a mix of performers and personalities, because the performances are a real mixed bag of styles.


The Mikado
By Gilbert & Sullivan
1982 production created for BBC Television
Cast: I will not use their names to protect the innocent, except for William Conrad, who really should have known better.

HMS Pinafore & Trial By Jury on DVD

Broadway purists will argue my inclusion of Gilbert & Sullivan in my Year, and the fact that this is a taping of a production from Opera Australia does nothing to combat that criticism. But, I love operettas and often find them an amusing diversion.

This production of HMS Pinafore does little favor to the genre, I'm afraid. It is certainly competently done with good singers and all the expected silliness, but it never seems exactly inspired, or as spontaneous as I've found the best operetta productions to seem. Perhaps that's partly from the notion of television taping in close-ups a production staged to be seen in an opera house. A roll of the eyes doesn't read in an opera house, but a double take reads as overblown on television.

The set for this production of Pinafore also struck me as very strange. I think the setting should be a sailing vessel. This set is clearly made to look like a steel warship, with a few ropes around for atmosphere. It looks more like the ship set for Anthing Goes than for G & S. The costumes on the other hand are beautiful, and it's nice to hear a full opera orchestra playing this musical romp of a score.

The production of Trial by Jury--which is the second half of this double bill--fares better. Set in contemporary times, the costumes are again very nice and the court-room set simple but workable. The playboy take on Edwin by tenor David Hobson (who also sang Ralph Rackstraw in Pinafore) is funny.

I doubt I'm the only one to find Pinafore rather homo-erotic. All those sailors! And some of the dialogue ("the finest seaman in the fleet" and "I'm a topman and a good one, too"). For those looking for attractive chorus boys, check out these sailors and jurymen. I'm heading to Melbourne!

HMS Pinafore & Trial by Jury
by Gilbert & Sullivan
Opera Australia production on DVD
Taped in 2006
Cast: Anthony Warlow, David Hobson, John Bolton Wood, Tiffany Speight, Richard Alexander, Colette Mann, Ali McGregor

Ghost Light Monday--Tribute to Mel Larimer

My "dark" night this week is indeed dark. I learned this past week that Mel Larimer passed away earlier this Spring. For anyone who spent summers at Interlochen National Music Camp in the 70s or 80s, Mel was a choral conductor and music director for the Camp's Gilbert & Sullivan productions.

I had never heard of Gilbert & Sullivan when I went to Interlochen for the first time in the summer of 1982, but happened to fall into the production of Iolanthe and had a great time being one of somewhere around 150 choristers in the show. Mel and his stage director partner, Dude Stephenson, were the reasons so many campers wanted to be part of the operetta each summer--it wasn't just theater students and singers, but also dancers, instrumentalists, anyone who wanted to be part. The next summer I made a point of being in The Mikado, again with Mel and Dude--somehow keeping all us kids on the same stage and the same page.

Mel always expected the best from everyone and treated each person with the respect to get the best out of everyone. He was positive, encouraging and helpful to kids like me who had a lot of enthusiasm but little experience or training. I remember him being a particularly patient and kind presence during auditions for the principal roles, never showing how tiresome it must have been to listen to all those auditions.

During my senior year of high school, I auditioned for Mel at Albion College in Michigan where he was the choir and vocal music director. I remember thinking it seemed I'd disappointed him when I chose another college.

According to the obituary in the Interlochen newsletter, Mel retired in 1996 after more than 30 years with the camp. I hope Interlochen continues to mount an operetta each summer. And I hope the kids lining up to be maidens, Pirates, peers, or fairies have someone as good as Mel Larimer to get them all on the same page.